Workplace EV charging still hit and miss

Almost three in 10 (29%) electric fleets now offer workplace charging for free.

A further 18% plan to install workplace chargers within the next 12 months. However, on the flip side, 44% offer no charging facilities at all.

This is according to research carried out in the 2021 Arval Mobility Observatory Barometer, which also found 14% have chargers in place but make their employees pay for charging.

Finally, to support charging at home, 14% of employers subsidised the installation of domestic chargers while their drivers footed the bill in 13% of cases.

Shaun Sadlier, head of Arval Mobility Observatory in the UK, said: “Ensuring that drivers have charging facilities available at home and at work is a strategic building block in the ongoing adoption of EVs more broadly. This research provides a fascinating snapshot of the current state of play – it’s pleasing to see that nearly three in 10 fleets offer free workplace charging.

“What we can see is that the level of corporates offering both charging at the workplace and support for home charging is some way behind the adoption of EVs themselves. However, the research shows that the picture is potentially changing quite rapidly, with almost one in five employers aiming to install charging in the next year.”

He continued: “Our view is that, to some extent, it is inevitable that larger businesses tend to have better resources to enable infrastructure change, but it would be wrong to imply that smaller businesses are being left behind. They are also taking charging seriously but just not moving ahead at the same kind of speed.”